Turns out, lots of elderly residents in Connecticut have recently been targeted by the "grandparent scam."

Some caught on before it was too late. But others, like the grandma I wrote about, weren't so lucky.

In fact, a day before the column ran, Newington police issued a cautionary press release about a town similarly victimized resident.

The story scammers used on that grandma was a little different. (Her grandson, the caller claimed, was in a car accident in the Dominican Republic and he wasn't allowed to leave the island until he had paid for the damage.) But it ended the same way -- with a trusting grandmother out more than $4,000.

Here are some tips on how to avoid falling prey to scammers from Attorney General George Jepsen's office:

•Resist the pressure to act immediately. Take your time and use a phone number you know to be genuine to verify the caller's identity. If you don't have the relative's phone number, get in touch with the person's parent, spouse, or another close family member to check out the story -- even if you've been told to keep the call a secret. If you can't reach a family member to verify the caller's identity, call your local police department.

•And whatever you do, don't wire money or send a check or money order by overnight courier to people you aren't sure you know, no matter how dramatic the story. Con artists recommend these services so they can get your money before you realize you've been cheated.

As the East Hampton grandmother said, realizing you've been scammed can be embarrassing. But don't be ashamed to call police and to report possible fraud to the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357), the Department of Consumer Protection at trade.practices@ct.gov or at 800-842-2649 or the Office of the Attorney General at Attorney.General@ct.gov or (860) 808-5420.

Torres, who suffers from bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, walked away from the Connecticut Valley Hospital on March 17, 2010 while on a supervised break. He has yet to be found.

After stories about the hospital's failure to look for Torres and pressure from Torres' mother as well as state Rep. Kelvin Roldan, a family friend, the agency said Tuesday that it will immediately inform families about the option of initiating the alert.

"It's unfortunate that it has taken this long," Roldan said. "However, this will mean no other family will have to go through what this family has."

An agency spokesperson said an official policy is still being worked out, but until then the department will immediately make families of missing patients aware of the alert, which is intended to help locate missing adults 65 or older, or mentally impaired. The Silver Alert, in effect since 2009, is sent to media outlets, police stations and missing persons agencies specifically to help locate adults in danger.

Margarita Torres, Aaron's mother, said she'd like to see the notification become protocol as soon as possible.Until then, she said, she worries that families won't be alerted as soon as they should.

Without giving anything away about how things turn out for him on the show -- he's back on tonight -- Matt Neville talked about his "amazing" experience on "Jeopardy."

Turns out family and friends have long told the 27-year-old Stop and Shop deli clerk that he had a mind for the game show.

So, he finally relented and took an online test, which led to an invite to test in person, which led to an invite to play on the show.

When producers called him in February to invite him to California, Neville said: "I was stunned. I almost dropped the phone."

His favorite moment to date? The moment in the second show, where he was able to come from behind and answer a question about an obscure Swedish canal. Host Alex Trebek was so impressed, he shook Neville's hand and asked if it was just a lucky guess.

It wasn't. Neville, a voracious reader, went on to win that day and the next. Be sure to watch him tonight.

Part of the deal of being on the pre-taped show is that contestant's can't talk about the results. But, Neville vaguely said, it will be a lot easier for him to attend school full-time.

He hopes to earn his degree in political science. In the meantime, he's back behind the Hamden supermarket deli counter and getting a kick out of folks interrupting his cold cut slicing with this: "Hey, aren't you the guy on Jeopardy?"

"I've never been the talk of the town,'' he said. "This has been amazing. Absolutely amazing."

The priciest item is a collection of cards and letters, that at $2,999.99, comes with the location of where Ross is buried.

Each description ends with the same sales pitch: "In case you didn't know, there's going to be a new book(and then, possibly a movie) coming out later this year (2011) on the Michael Ross case written by one of his legal advisers, Martha Elliott. So, this is a definitely a good time to own some Michael Ross memorabilia!!"

"The Bridgeport teen is going to a family in New Haven. His school has agreed to transport him from New Haven to Bridgeport to finish his senior year. We are still looking for a placement in Bridgeport but we have several options for him for the summer.

We have two families working with DCF in Norwich as potential placements for the 13-year-old.

The Waterbury teen is not yet out of his home, but we have identified both mentoring and housing resources for him should that become necessary."

Great news. Except, as I noted in my column, there are so many teens in the same boat.

As one Department of Environmental Protection worker put it: High-profile stories about a handful of over-paid, double-dipping state workers make for juicy headlines. But they don't tell the full story.

The reality, she said, is that most state employee salaries average around $50,000.

On Tuesday, Gov. Dan Malloy ordered more than 4,000 layoff notices to start going out after his administration and the state employee unions failed to reach a deal.

Reactions from state workers ran the gamut. But the overwhelming emotion was uncertainty.

"It's a lack of communication," one worker said. "The union and governor may be talking to each other. But no one is talking to us."

So uncertain were many workers about the looming layoffs, that they were choosing not to worry about it until they had a pink slip in hand.

" Until someone tells me I've been laid off, I'm not going to worry about it," said one state worker trying to choose between tacos and thai for lunch.